On her weekend show, MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry claimed that the word “Obamacare,” which is used to describe the Affordable Care Act, was created as a “disparaging word" by "wealthy white men" who opposed it.

Harris-Perry said "Obamacare" is also used to deride President Obama and his successes, but told her audience to use the phrase in pride as Obama has (video below), reports Mediaite.com.

According to The Washington Post, the word "Obamacare" was created by Republicans during the debate about the Affordable Care Act in 2010.

“The word was conceived of by a group of wealthy white men who needed a way to put themselves above and apart from a black man, to render him inferior and unequal and to diminish his accomplishments,” stated Harris-Perry, notes RealClearPolitics.com.

"President Obama has been labeled with this word by his opponents," said Harris-Perry. "And at first he rose above it, hoping that if he could just make a cause for what he achieved, his opponents would fail in making their label stick. But no matter how many successes that he had as president, he realized there were still many people for whom he’d never be anything more than that one disparaging word."

"And so he decided, if you can’t beat them, you’ve got to join them," added Harris-Perry. "And he embraced the word and made it his own, sending his opposition a message they weren’t expecting, 'If that’s what you want me to be, I’ll be that.' Y’all know the word that I’m talking about. Obamacare. That's right. I said it and I’m not ashamed and neither is President Obama. Because he knows that of all his victories over two terms in office his legacy is ultimately going to be remembered for this one single word."